“Can I give you a call? Something a bit weird happened this morning. X” read my message to Claire.

I’d been unable to concentrate since getting back from my coffee with Sarah. I’d taken Barney for a short, fifteen minute walk, skipped lunch and then tried to continue my studying. I was finding myself reading the same paragraphs over and over, and each time wouldn’t have been able to recall much of the material.

Little Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
Ef you…Don't… Watch…Out!

"Little Orphant Annie"
James Whitcomb Riley
1885

Just before her Saturday class at the dojang, Christie is all suited up and hoping for some sparring practice. Her next advancement test is only a couple of weeks away, and she wants to be ready!. Some things go right. Some others, eh, not so much. In the end, however, a great many things in Christie's future may start to change.